Sword Art Online: Chaos Labyrinth Beginning (Full Text)
Prologue The dreary weather of the sixth of November didn’t dampen a certain lady’s spirits. She had obtained one of the 10,000 copies of the game that she had participated in the beta test for, Sword Art Online. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to bring an umbrella and as a result, she was getting drenched in the rain. Aw, man... she thought, Why is it raining? She hid the case within her vestments and took off into the morning tempest. Arriving home, she peeked into the dojo. Her cousin, Suguha Kirigaya, was, as usual, practicing kenjutsu. She ignored him like she always does and headed to her room. Clad in black, the young woman sighed as she took the contraption resting on her table. Her name is Shioko Kirigaya and she is about to embark on an adventure in another world. She let out an excited breath and opened up the cassette drive which stored the game Sword Art Online, more commonly known as “SAO”. She inserted it into her PC, put on the NerveGear and laid back on her bed. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, muttering, “Link... start!” She braced herself for the internal checks the NerveGear does, making sure it is connected to the five centers for her five senses in her brain. A pop-up appeared dictating a sign-in screen. She entered her ID and password and a new pop-up appears, asking if she wants to reuse her beta test data. She hit yes and everything went black. Welcome to Sword Art Online! She opened her eyes and found a familiar landscape. Ah... she thought, How good it is to be back. She didn’t know what she looked like because she purposely chose a male avatar for both the beta test and the official release. She only did this as she was curious to know what a boy experiences. She checked out her initial equipment. Well, I sorta expected my initial equipment to suck. She had the «Small Sword» equipped. She took a walk around the town, making sure to walk in a boyish gait. “Hey!” A voice resounded through the town. “Excuse me, are you a beta tester?” She turned around to face the voice. “Are you talking to me? If so, then yes, I am a beta tester.” “Yes! Do you know any good spots where we could level up easily?” Shioko raised an eyebrow. Huh. A complete noob is asking me for some good spots to level-up… That’s totally new. She nodded, “Yeah, sure. Follow me.” She left the bustling crowds of the «Town of Beginnings» and went out into the field. Leading the girl who had asked her, she found a wild boar. Shioko planted her feet. “Here. The boars in this area are quite weak but they do yield some nice experience.” The other girl applauded. “As expected of the beta tester! Okay!” She then drew her sword. Of course, it was identical to Shioko’s own, since the game had just started. Shioko also drew her sword and charged the boar first. “Okay, first tip. Keep your guard up at all times and pay attention to the enemy’s HP gauge.” The other girl nodded, wielding her sword. She made for a left-to-right slash and scored a hit. Shioko said, “Nice one.” Shioko danced with grace as she sidestepped the boar every time it tried to charge her. Each time, she slashes another wound into the boar. When it’s HP hit the red, she said, “Hey, you do the last hit!” The other girl nodded while Shioko kept the boar distracted. “Now!” she yelled. Shioko dove out of the way and the other girl made a wild swing. Shioko watched as the boar’s HP gauge hit zero and it dissipated in a pixelated explosion. The other girl panted, “Phew. Oh cool! I leveled up!” Shioko gave her a thumbs up, “Nice. Now, onto the next one!” Just like that, they burned the rest of the day hunting for more enemies to kill and level up from. The sun began descending and so did their adrenaline. Shioko sighed, “Phew.” The other girl beamed, “Wow, Senpai! You don’t seem tired at all.” Shioko’s heart skipped a beat. Sen… Senpai? Did she just call me “Senpai”? She turned away and replied, “Well, I’ve played this before so I pretty much know most of the stuff.” Shioko opened the window and checked her level. Level 4, eh? Not bad. The other girl dusted herself off and announced, “Well, I should probably head home now. My parents may start to get worried.” Shioko shrugged. “Okay. I’m going to stay in-game for a while longer.” “Nice. Well, I’ll see you later.” “Yeah, later.” The other girl stood up and opened a window, searching for the “logout” button. “Weird. I can’t find the logout option.” Shioko raised an eyebrow. “Odd. Hmm...” She opened her own window and looked for the logout button. “You’re right. It should be right here, below the Skills button.” Suddenly, the two glittered. Forced teleportation?! she thought. The two found themselves in the pavilion of the Town of Beginnings. Shioko noticed that every other player was also teleported here. She knew that the company behind SAO only sold 10,000 copies, meaning that there are 10,000 players. The sky burned red and a barrier appeared. Along with the barrier, someone else appeared. Shioko inspected the figure, who looks like a cosplayer who failed at being the Grim Reaper. A melodious voice announced, “Hello and good evening, players of SAO! I am sure that most of you know this already but I shall say it anyway. You may have noticed that there is no logout option. This isn’t a bug but a game mechanic of SAO.” The figure waved his hand and a virtual map of the castle they are in, Aincrad, appeared. He continued, “This castle has 100 floors. Of course, you will have to clear all 100 to clear the game.” Players began complaining about the burden ahead of them. The figure cleared his throat. “I also need to make another announcement since our beta test. We have made it so that if your HP hits zero, you die. Not just your avatar though. When you die, your data gets erased from the game and your NerveGear unleashes lethal blasts of microwaves, frying your brain. To sum it up, if you die in the game, you also die in real life.” Now the crowd entered the first stage of stampede. People began yelling at how they came to play this for fun, not to stake their lives clearing the game! “Now, now, I am only here to give you this announcement. Whether you live or die is up to you. Before I leave, I left a present in all of your inventories. Please open it.” With that, the mysterious Grim Reaper went away and the crimson barrier disappeared. Shioko was the first to return to her senses. She opened her inventory and found the item in question. It was a mirror. She pressed the button and it appeared in her right hand. She looked into it and glimpsed her avatar. Her avatar had spiky black hair and eyes the color of midnight. Seconds later, a blue light blasted out of the mirror and engulfed her. She screamed but no sound came out. When the light was extinguished, she looked at her new reflection. Stifling a scream, she stared at herself. Her avatar was now an exact match of herself: a beautiful woman with long flowing hair and eyes darker than night. She had perfect features; no error could be seen on her face. In other words, she was a goddess. The girl next to her gasped, “You’re… You’re not a boy!” Shioko turned to look at the girl. At least her appearance didn’t change. Shioko’s anger bubbled out. “Follow me, girl!” She ran out of the pavilion with the other girl struggling to catch up. Shioko bolted to the main gate while the other girl panted, “Hey! Where are we going?” She stopped and turned around. She replied, “To the next town over.” The other girl asked, “Why don’t you stay with me? I might need more advice.” Shioko answered, “I’m sorry but for now, we will have to part ways. It was nice to work with you.” Having said her bit, she wheeled around and ran again. “Wait!” the other girl called, “I don’t know your name yet!” Shioko ran in place and replied, “I’m Shiota!” “I’m Chelsea!” “Good luck to you, Chelsea.” With that, Shioko took off, running into the gloom. She burst out of the main gate and followed the road to the next town. She recounted the events of the evening. She defiantly thought, I will survive. This game... I shall clear myself. I will break out of this prison! You can’t hold me back! Along the way, she encountered a wolf. She drew her sword and shouted, “«Rage Spike»!” Her sword shone blue as she cut straight through the wolf, killing it instantly. Clouds covered the moon and the young girl disappeared into the gloom as if she had melted into shadow. Chapter I: The First Floor Part I: Acumen of Silent Bitterness Five weeks had passed ever since that announcement that SAO had turned into a death game. Already there have been 2000 deaths and the first floor has yet to be cleared. Shioko sighed as she sat up in bed. She got out and got dressed for another day of soloing. Walking outside, she headed to the first floor labyrinth where she will stake out some more monsters. Four days ago, Shioko had obtained a new sword from a monster drop that replaced her initial one, «Anneal Blade». Shioko found that she had an affinity to one-handed swords but she intended to at least try all the weapon categories. Besides the Anneal Blade, she has the «Champion Foil», a rapier. For now, she has more affinity to her one-handed swords than the rapier. Her thoughts wandered around as she stumbled into the labyrinth. She felt a presence to her left and instinctively leaped back. Tch... Three steps in, and I’m already ambushed. She drew her sword and slashed at the monster. She activated a sword skill, an AOE one-hit that has a chance of lowering defense. “«Horizontal»!” Her sword glowed blue and she made a left-to-right slash, lighting up the darkness and decimating the enemies. She sheathed her sword and let out a sigh. “Phew.” A sound rang in the darkness. A window opened up in front of her, saying that she has a new message. She read it. Calling all players! We will hold a meeting about discussing the first floor labyrinth. Diabel’s scouting party has found the boss room! We need people willing to participate in the raid! “Tch. Someone found the boss room before I did...” She turned around and made her way back into the sunlight. ---- The designated place of the meeting was like a sunken amphitheater. The floor of the amphitheater was at least 80 feet lower than the surface. Rings of seats circled its way upwards. She made her way to the 4th row from the top. A handsome blue-haired man cleared his throat. “Eh-hem! Thank you for coming! My name is Diabel and I am the one who discovered the boss room. I received some info from arriving there and some from beta testers. The boss’ name is «Illfang the Kobold Lord» and his minions are «Kobold Sentinels». The boss has 4 health bars and wields a two-handed axe. When his health reaches the first bar, he changes attack patterns, wielding a two-handed sword.” The rant continued but Shioko didn’t really listen as she already knows all of these facts. Her attention returned when the man known as Diabel said, “We’re going to need a raid party! The game only allows a maximum of 67 players to participate in the raid. Don’t ask me why I didn’t create this game. Anyone present here, please start forming parties.” Shioko intended to completely ignore the suggestion when she made the mistake of turning her head to her right. A man of her age sat a few feet away from her. He wore a red hoodie that shielded his face. Shioko scooted over and asked, “You’ve been left out, too?” The boy nodded which prompted her next question. “You want to form a party?” He again nodded and she sent a party request to the boy. The boy accepted and Shioko took note of the boy’s name. His name was Yuurei, purposely spelled with two “u”s instead of a "u" with a macron. Shioko was ready to burst out laughing but she restrained herself. “We should get our equipment ready.” The other boy nodded. The raid was to happen soon that afternoon which gave Shioko a good reason to sort through her equipment. Shioko decided that she will stick with using her one-handed sword. The Anneal Blade shone with mischief. Shioko set an alarm on her clock to wake her up one hour earlier than the promised gathering time for the boss raid. She had to get some extra hours as she had spent the last few days leveling up like a madman. She immediately crashed and her eyes slid shut. The alarm erupted with a loud sound and Shioko shot out of her bed. Now I’m nice and rested. Time to clear the first floor. She leaped out of bed and strapped on her sword. Whistling, she made her way to the labyrinth with the assault team. Yuurei was already there, a few seconds earlier than Shioko. Diabel counted heads, nodded, then led the raid party into the gloom. Monsters kept jumping out of the shadows, randomly attacking the group. The players have grown experienced to the game and they easily dealt with the enemies. In no time, Diabel led them to a stop in front of the boss room door. “I only have one thing to say to everyone here. We shall win! And we shall make it back alive!” A cheer rose, “''Yeaaaaaaaah!!!” The raiding group shoved the doors open and charged in. Immediately, they spotted the boss. It looked like a vague combination of a pig and a boar. It stood on its hind legs. Diabel shouted orders, “Teams A, B and C deal with the Sentinels! Everyone else, focus on the boss!” Shioko took a deep breath and drew her sword. She charged in first and slashed at the boss, lowering its health by a sliver. Her sword strikes were fast, really fast. So fast, most people couldn’t see the path of the blade. She danced around the feet of the boss, slashing at its legs, forcing it to get on its knees. By then, the boss lost 10% of its first HP gauge. “Now! All at once!” she yelled. She charged her sword and shouted, “«Star Quint Prominence»!” Her sword glowed yellow as she made a series of five slashes, tracing the pentagram of Satan. Her last hit pierced the center of the pentagram and made the residual design explode outward, cutting down the boss’ HP by another 12%. Everyone else stood shocked, their mouths hanging open. “Yuurei! Switch!” she shouted. She leapt backwards with Yuurei taking her place. She whispered, “«Over-Radiate».” Everyone else began bombarding the boss with attacks. Shioko swerved to the boss’ rump and used Rage Spike again. She then chained it to «Slant», Horizontal and «Vertical», erasing the boss’ first HP bar. Shioko had to step back as she had exhausted her SP. She returned to her normal attack pattern when the boss stood back up on its feet. Diabel ordered for everyone to back off, while he and the other high-levels knock off some more HP. ''Heh, this man might make for an excellent guild leader someday. Shioko retreated, long enough to use an SP Potion. Her SP went back to max and she charged back into the battle, using Rage Spike to easily close the distance and deal some damage. She returned to her dangerous dance with the boss, weaving in and out of its legs. The boss was learning though, as Shioko barely dodged the axe shooting down at her. She tuck-and-rolled out of the way before using Vertical to stun the boss. She backed off as her health had gone down a tad because of the shockwave from the axe striking the floor. She used «Protection Prayer» and gave herself an HP regeneration buff. She charged in again, this time stunning the boss with «Weapon Bash» before again using Star Quint Prominence. Yuurei had backed off and had used the «Sharp Rage» battle skill, increasing both of their chances of landing critical hits. He stepped forward and whispered, “«Rapid Stab».” On the first hit to land, the two gained an Extra Auto-Attack buff which would help with increasing weapon skill proficiency faster. Nice thinking, Yuurei! The boss approached the end of its second bar. It was getting agitated. The other groups were starting to be pushed in the boss’ direction. Tch, they plan to use a pincer movement? Smart. But we’re smarter! She yelled, “Yuurei! Help the group fighting the sentinels! They plan to trap us in a vice! I got the boss!” Shioko charged in again, this time using «Sonic Leap» to close the gap. She chained it to Rage Spike then Vertical to stun. “Diabel!” she said, “Distract the boss for a second! I need to recharge my SP.” The blue-haired youth nodded and ran towards the boss. Dammit, that SP Regeneration buff ended too quickly. Do I have a better item...? She rummaged through her inventory and found her prize, “Aha!” She used the Grand SP Potion. With this one, I’ll be able to use sword skills nearly nonstop! The problem is that the buff cuts in 3 minutes. We need to take it down in three minutes. She showed three fingers and the blue-haired youth spotted it. He immediately nodded and stunned the boss with Weapon Bash while Shioko tested something she had discovered in the system. She began a chain of sword skills: Sonic Leap, Rage Spike, Slant, Horizontal, Vertical and lastly Star Quint Prominence. Previously, the boss was in the red of its second HP bar. Not anymore. Shioko had cut it down to half of the third HP bar. She then repeated the chain, keeping an eye on her SP and her regeneration buff (her HP regeneration buff ended before she began the first chain). Twice more she used the chain before the buff wore off. She leaped back. Tch... Only got it to the yellow of the last HP gauge... She yelled, “Sorry, Diabel! I couldn’t finish it off!” Part II: Ode to Infinite Madness He replied, “No worries, Shiota! That was very excellent!” He then announced, “This is the final stretch! Keep going, guys!” Shioko stuck her sword into the ground, panting. She stayed there for several seconds, trying to regain her stamina. That was a first... It left me wiped though. I need to watch how much I use that, she thought. It could be deadly if I lost energy in the middle of a boss fight such as this. She looked up to see that the boss yelled aloud. The reason? Its health was in the red. Shioko immediately noticed something was wrong. In the beta test, the monster had used a two-handed sword. Then she noticed that the weapon hanging from its belt wasn’t what she thought. It was a talwar. I’m so stupid! Why would they keep it the same as the beta!? Too late did realization set in. She shouted, “Diabel, watch-” Her shout was cut short as the scream of the blue-haired youth resounded through the boss room. His health was in the green but that one hit depleted his health. Shioko charged and caught him before he hit the floor. She grabbed a health potion and gave it to the man, “Drink.” The man pushed it away, “No. I figured it wouldn’t be the same.” Confused, Shioko raised an eyebrow. Again, the realization set in. “You... you’re a beta tester, too?” The man weakly nodded and coughed out particles, which Shioko assumed was the same as him coughing out blood. “You need to lead them... Shiota, your skill is needed... I was just dumb... I guess I’ll go to the other side and ponder why I made such a dumb decision in the end...” Tears began to form in her eyes. She muttered, “No...” The man smiled one last time before dissolving into particles. It was insulting that his death was so beautiful. On her knees, Shioko sat, her hands shaking. She balled both hands into fists and redrew her sword, which she had sheathed to free her hands for catching Diabel. Shioko gave off a frightening aura, her murderous intent now obvious. She whispered in a steely voice, “Yuurei. We shall finish this.” The other boy, who had also witnessed the death of Diabel along with the other players, nodded. The other players backed off, obviously sensing the aura of an insatiable lust for killing emanating from Shioko. She charged the boss and used the new skill she just unlocked, «Horizontal Square», lowering the boss’ defense before chaining it into a new chain: Rage Spike, Horizontal, Vertical and Star Quint Prominence. Yuurei understood Shioko’s intentions. Together and at the same time, they used Slant and «Streak», depleting the boss’ health to zero. Shioko had purposely timed her sword skill milliseconds after Yuurei’s so that she could get the Last Attack Bonus. Silence spread through the ranks until congratulatory music erupted from nowhere and a sign apparated in front of Shioko, announcing that the first floor had been successfully cleared with a timestamp of 1340, December 2, 2022. A secondary window opened in front of Shioko, awarding her with the Last Attack Bonus. The one who broke the silence was a person named Kibaou. “She... she single-handedly took down the boss... She’s a beta tester! She kept information from us! She’s a cheater as well as a beta tester!” Shioko’s steely voice cut through, “And? What of it?” Her eyes glared back and the other players immediately backed away out of fear. “She’s a beta tester and a cheater! She’s a beater! A beater!” Kibaou yelled, his voice shaking. “A beater...” she thought. “Yes, I like that name. I’m a beater.” She equipped the Last Attack Bonus, the «Coat of Midnight», and strolled to the staircase leading to the second floor. “I’m a beater and if you had sense, you would stay away from me.” Someone apparently didn’t have much sense. Yuurei chased after her. “Hey! Why?” Yuurei also pulled down his hood, revealing his face for the first time. He had blond hair with handsome features, almost feminine. “I’m sorry,” she replied kindly, “Let us separate here.” Shioko opened a window and hit the “Disband Party” button. Smiling one last time, she turned around and made her way through the massive doorway that led to the second floor. Chapter 2: The Second Floor Part I: Prelude to Star-crossed Joy Shioko emerged into a plain. She was not expecting a floor with terrain similar to the African landscape. She said aloud, “Okay, Kayaba. I think that the most likely way we would die is from an overload of weirdness. I am not joking in the slightest.” There were also flat-topped plateaus and mesas. She appeared from a cave and it was extremely hot. Holy Murakumo, just ''how did he manage to recreate heat so effectively?! I’m already sweating quite profusely.'' A voice behind her echoed, “You really are a piece of work.” Shioko rolled her eyes and asked, “Okay, why do you insist on following me?” He replied, “We’re a party. The two best solo players of SAO.” “Uh-huh,” she scoffed, “Well, your ability certainly warrants a title such as this. Fine, I’ll accept this partnership. Just don’t expect me to be near you every day.” Yuurei playfully shrugged. “Who, me?” His eyes purposely darted around, as if searching for someone other than himself. Shioko felt compelled to at least chuckle. “Yes, you, you blockhead.” Yuurei laughed for a solid five seconds. Her laugh suddenly died down. “Duck!” she yelled. Shioko was way ahead of him. She drew her sword and unleashed «Horizontal Arc», a sword skill that she had unlocked earlier but flat-out refused to use it. She then noticed that there was a mob of mobs. “Tch,” she groaned, “Really. I barely walk onto the second floor and an ambush is waiting for me. I have a strange feeling Kayaba has already singled me out as the strongest player of SAO.” Simple but effective, Shioko didn’t use sword skills. She had finally decided to unveil a class of techniques that she learned in her family dojo of the Kirigaya style. The class was known as the Conjoined Cranes, a fearsome group of techniques unleashed in instant succession with pinpoint accuracy. Only Shioko herself managed to master all 49 techniques in that group. Her cousin, Suguha, is still working on the last 9 techniques. She hoped that SAO had a system that allows her to implement her own sword skills; she had made a resolution to translate all 49 techniques of the Conjoined Cranes into katana skills (as it was used with her nihōnto). Her Anneal Blade could sub as a katana due to its shape but it wasn’t as effective as with her nihōnto and she knew it. First of all, it had two bevels, two cutting edges. Her nihōnto only had one and it was deadly sharp. Upon first acquiring the blade, she had tested its sharpness and she admitted aloud (to which no one heard) that the Anneal Blade is duller than her own nihōnto. Second, the Anneal Blade was too wide to what she was used to. Her nihōnto was about 75 centimeters in length and only 6 centimeters wide. The Anneal Blade had to be at least 13 centimeters wide, twice as wide. Yuurei jarred Shioko from her thoughts, yelling, “Here comes some more «Storm Hornets»! Keep up, ma’am!” Shioko was wondering why he wasn’t calling her by name. She then realized, Hey, maybe he doesn’t know that the name is displayed above the HP gauge when we were a party... Eh, no problem with introducing myself. She wheeled on him and scoffed, “Now, who are you calling ‘ma’am’?” Yuurei was in the middle of using Linear when she suddenly called out to him. “Huh?” he stammered. Shioko realized her mistake not a second too soon. She unleashed Rage Spike and finished off the Storm Hornet that was about to give Yuurei a hairdo the hard way. “I asked, ‘Who are you calling “ma’am”?’” she repeated. “Oh, that’s because I don’t know your name,” he replied easily. Shioko rolled her eyes. “Ugh, fine. My name is Shiota. I’m surprised you don’t notice that there is a name above the HP gauge.” Yuurei was open-mouthed. “No, in fact, I did not realize.” Putting her hand over her mouth, Shioko tried not to laugh. Between giggles, she forced out, “You... You are a piece of work.” A small smile tugged at the boy’s mouth. He said warmly, “Ah, so you do get that kind of look sometimes.” Shioko immediately wiped the smile from her face. “I have not the slightest idea what you’re talking about.” “Come on, Miss Solo Player,” he announced, grabbing her hand, “Let us make our way to town.” Shioko tried not to redden as she scolded, “Who gave you permission to hold my hand?” Yuurei shrugged, “Well, you didn’t resist.” Good point, she thought, Why ''am I not resisting?'' The sun continued to set as the two made their way to town. The vibrant hues danced across the sky as if celebrating a potential union between two people. Part II: Calypso of Two Swords Shioko awoke in the inn. She groggily tried to remember the details of the previous day. The boss battle. An ambush. Becoming friends. All the memories came flooding back into her. She announced aloud, “Wow, I had a hectic day yesterday.” She hopped out of bed and made her way down into the streets of «Urbus», the second floor’s main city. Behind her, a voice poked, “Morning, Shiota.” She turned around to find the playful smiling face of Yuurei. “Good morning, Yuurei.” “Are you in the mood to do some quests? I found a good one.” “Please tell me it is a kill quest.” “Oh my, you’re a boisterous one. Yes, yes, it is a kill quest.” “Thank Izanami.” “Let’s get moving then, Miss Solo Player.” “Please stop calling me that.” Yuurei smirked and stuck his tongue out. “I won’t, Miss Solo Player.” Rolling her eyes, Shioko chased after him as he ran out of town to hit the blistering heat of the day. In no time, the two players were sweating. “Oh, we forgot to do something,” Shioko remembered. Perking up, Yuurei said, “Hmm? What would that be?” “You blockhead, you forgot to send me a party invite.” Feigning surprise, Yuurei laughed, “Oops.” He opened a window and sent an invite to her. Shioko hit “yes” without hesitation. “There we go,” he proudly said, “Now, where was that quest NPC...?” Shioko closed her eyes and activated her «Searching» skill. She pointed to a boulder. “There.” She walked to it and peeked around to find a girl of around 14 years of age. “Hello,” she gently said, “Why are you alone?” The girl replied, “You two look strong. I’m only here to hide from the monsters who took my parents.” Shioko looked back at Yuurei and raised an eyebrow, asking a silent question: Seems to me that this is both a kill quest and a collect quest. What do you want to do? He replied, Of course, we’ll clear it and help this NPC. Shioko nods and turns back to the girl. “Don’t worry, child, we’ll go and save your parents.” Her eyes lit up, “Really?” Both Shioko and Yuurei nodded. “Yay!” she exclaimed, jumping up and down. “Let me first tell you something. There is a field boss on the way to «Taran», the nearest town to that giant tower. That field boss and his fellow monsters has managed to charge my parents into submission.” Shioko’s left eyebrow rose even higher. “Charge?” “They’re bulls,” the girl explained. “Ah, no wonder,” Shioko replied, “Continue.” “The field boss’ name is «Bullbous Bow», with two “‘l’s”, mind you,” she stated, “It has quite a number of «Trembling Ox» as allies.” “All we need to do is kill them all and save your parents,” Shioko summed up. The girl recoiled slightly, “Not the way I'' would put it but yes. Essentially, that’s what you need to do.” Shioko gently patted the NPC’s head and crooned, “We’ll be back soon with your parents. I pray to the gods that they haven’t been murdered yet.” The girl nodded before again hiding behind the boulder. Shioko twirled her arms, stretching her muscles. She wanted to make absolutely sure that she couldn’t get muscle cramps in battle as that would be fatal. “Well, are you ready to start killing?” Yuurei replied, “Ready when you are.” An icon appeared in front of her which said, “«Prime Cuts» Kill Quest has begun. Quest objective: Kill all Trembling Ox and the Bullbous Bow Field Boss.”. “Wow, the quest is called Prime Cuts,” Yuurei laughed. There was also a timestamp on the quest notice, reading 0940, December 8, 2022. “Maybe we could try to speedrun the quest?” “Good idea, Shiota,” Yuurei commented, “It would be a good test for our skills.” The two players marched onwards, forging through the extreme heat of the day. It was not until they were running for five minutes before they encountered the first monsters. She charged forward using Rage Spike and drove her blade hilt-deep into one Trembling Ox. “Hut!” she yelled, yanking her blade upwards and killing the beast. “Heh, looks like I got first blood, Yuurei!” “Oh, lay off, Shiota!” he complained, “Let me have some fun, too.” He took a deep breath and began to sprint, tracing a wide circle around a slowly gathering group of oxen. “This ought to be fun. Gotcha! «Shooting Star»!” She streaked forward in a similar way to how Shioko would after using Rage Spike. Yuurei unleashed carnage. Shioko barely managed to stay on her feet as a sonic boom struck her. “Holy Murakumo, Yuurei!” Shioko yelled, “A little warning next time?” Yuurei put on his irresistible smile that radiated mischief again. It had suddenly grown endearing to Shioko. “No warning for you, Princess Solo Player.” “Hey!” Shioko complained, “Lay off with the nicknames!” All she got in return was a tongue directed at her. The two unleashed their own waves of carnage as they relentlessly killed the beasts coming at them. After wasting at least 40 monsters, the boss came. “Heh, you finally show up, eh?” Yuurei smirked. “Come here, you stupid boar!” “Uh, it’s an ox.” He waved Shioko off. “Nah, I’m going to call it a boar.” His face made a face of pleasant surprise. “Oh, cool. A new skill.” He began playing matador with the ox while Shioko relentlessly attacked its sides. The monster had 2 HP bars, which they didn’t find surprising, as the young NPC had told them that it was a field boss. “«Vertical Arc»!” Shioko yelled, turning her blade on its left bevel and swiping it downwards into the monster’s nose. She then changed her grip and brought up her blade, which glowed an angry blue. She stunned the boss and found herself in the inevitable but annoying post-motion delay of sword skills because she had missed the window in time to which she can chain Vertical Arc into another skill. “Yuurei!” The boy immediately nodded and activated Over-Radiate. The delay tapered off after his second attack and Shioko brought up her sword, unleashing Star Quint Prominence. The ox’s first HP bar disintegrated into nothing. It became enraged but was still being attacked by Yuurei’s 10-hit skill. Once that ended, Yuurei backed off also afflicted with the post-motion delay. “Tch, almost there!” Shioko’s lag ended as Yuurei’s began, and she used that opportunity to unleash Horizontal Square. ''I cannot miss. I ''cannot miss this!'' Upon finishing the square, she immediately took another stance and activated Horizontal Arc, a variant of the Vertical Arc that is performed at a 60-degree angle relative to the plane of Vertical Arc. When she entered Horizontal Arc, Yuurei had also shrugged off his delay. He unleashed a new sword skill, «Penetrate», three deadly olive green thrusts. With that, the boss disintegrated. Wiping her forehead, Shioko said, “That’s a quest cleared!” “We still need to find the NPC’s parents,” Yuurei pointed out. Shioko slumped, muttering, “You just had to ruin the mood, did you?” “Hey, I’m stating the fact.” He shrugged and pointed to a cave. “Most likely, they’re in there.” Yuurei staked out the cave, leading from the front, as all men should do. He proudly marched inside, eyes peeled for threats. Shioko’s Searching skill was active, piercing through the gloom of the cave. Shioko’s keen hearing picked up moans of pain. She made haste toward the sound and found a man and a woman huddled together with bleeding wounds (not really). “Oh gods, what have they done?” The man stuttered, “Th-thank you… We thought we were goners.” Yuurei offered a hand to him and shouldered him. Shioko silently ordered with her stature that the woman climb onto her back. She braced herself and mutely made her way out of the cave. This time, she was in front with Yuurei watching her six. After several minutes of trudging, the two players successfully reunited the family. The girl leaped into her father’s arms, shedding tears. Both Yuurei and Shioko couldn’t help but smile. The woman said, “I can’t express how elated I am to be here right now.” “Yes, I am too.” With those words, a notice appeared with the words: “Prime Cuts quest successfully completed! Time: 8 minutes and 43 seconds.” Shioko’s eyebrow crept up her face. Wait a second, it took us several minutes to get to the killing grounds. Yuurei nodded at Shioko. This quest most likely began counting when we found the monsters, Shiota. I’m betting it stopped counting when we found our prizes. “We can’t have you go without a reward,” the woman said. Shioko raised her hands and stated (with much difficulty), “No, no, ma’am. It’s all right. We just did a good deed.” “Which we must pay back,” the man insisted. He opened a window and tapped a few buttons. A sheathed sword appeared in his hand. “Here, take this,” he said, handing it to Shioko, “It is a family heirloom.” “I-I can’t…” she muttered. “Take it,” the woman implored, “I’m quite sure you’ll need this more than we do.” Shioko’s left hand daintily snatched the sword from her hand. She bowed her head and stated, “Thank you very much.” “It’s the least we could do for you after you saved our lives,” the man easily uttered. Shioko sighed and checked the time. She looked at Yuurei and said, “We should head back to town. We need to eat something.” “Good idea, Shiota,” Yuurei replied. With that, the two marched back towards town. Part III: Crime Under the Cover of Night “Whoa, what is this?” A woman of dark heritage exclaimed. Upon arriving at Urbus, Shioko dragged Yuurei and herself to an appraisal shop, run by a player named Tiffany. “I told you already,” Shioko sighed, “I got it from completing the Prime Cuts quest.” She was beginning to get exasperated as she had explained the origins of her blade at least three times already. “These stats…” the woman was still much in awe, “Unthinkable. Or at least unthinkable now. The sword is a katana. Its name is «Senbakiri». It has a base DPS of 85. A maximum of seven enhancements can be performed on it.” “Holy Susanoo, that is insanely high!” Yuurei yelled, “And you’re going to use it?! I’m so jealous!” Shioko was surprised herself. “Wow, even my Anneal Blade has a DPS of only 43.” “My own «Wind Fleuret» has a DPS of 40,” Yuurei pointed out. Shioko smiled to herself. She remembered when she had first unsheathed the blade several minutes earlier and presented it to Tiffany. Her hand was gripping the hilt so tight that her knuckles bleached in color. She had thought to herself, It’s the same. But... it can’t be... The sword looked eerily and exactly the same as her own Senbakiri, except that it was made of actual steel instead of the wood blade she used to practice. She immediately felt an attachment to it, which made her hesitate long enough to prompt words from Tiffany, “Well? I don’t got all day.” Shioko was jarred to the present when Tiffany asked with a hungry look in her eyes, “Are you selling it?” She scrutinized the blade, holding it in hand. She thought she heard a voice saying, Come on. I dare you. She replied with a smile, “No. Sorry, Tiffany.” She grabbed Yuurei’s hand and led him away. Behind her, Tiffany was throwing a tantrum, huffing at the fact that she could’ve sold Senbakiri for a very high price. That decides it. I will hold off on using the Anneal Blade for a while. I need to practice with my beloved sword. Again, she thought she heard Senbakiri reply, Of course. I will remain your sword as long as you are alive. Lunch occurred and went in a blink of an eye. There was already news out. Shioko herself had been cornered by “reporters”. One of them was a beta tester to which Shioko often turned to for info: Argo. A woman with strangely cat-like features, despite her epithet of Rat. No sooner had they rushed off, the newspapers and other info brokers knew about the “legendary” Senbakiri, owned by Shiota, a solo player. It was not until 3 in the afternoon when the reporters finally left her in peace. “Ugh, really,” she sighed, “I obtain the current strongest weapon and I get flooded by jealous players.” Yuurei shrugs, “Well, you just said it yourself. It is the strongest weapon.” “For now.” “Good point.” Shioko sighed and stretched. She sat up and watched the sun inching its way down to the horizon. “Well, I guess we can turn in for the day. I need to rest up and get ready for labyrinth diving tomorrow.” “I’ll take my leave, too, then,” Yuurei replied, “Nice working with you today.” He held out his hand. Shioko took it and shook. “Yeah, you too, Yuurei. Have a nice evening.” “Right back at you, Shiota. You take care of yourself.” “Oh great, now you think I can’t care for myself anymore!” A hearty laugh issued from Yuurei’s lips. “Sorry, I went too far there.” He walked closer and kissed her forehead. He looked straight into her eyes. “But I’m serious. Don’t go dying on me.” Turning on his heels, he made his way to the inn. Shioko gently tapped her forehead where Yuurei’s lips made a short knock. She should’ve been mad. She wanted to congratulate him for his bravery. But those feelings betrayed her. All she had were feelings of awe at the man who had so precisely stolen her heart, even if she herself was not aware. His lips… They feel just like Father’s and Mother’s… In a daze, she managed to make her way into her room and lied down. Using her left arm, she shielded her eyes, trying to sort through her feelings of the day. Glancing at the clock, the time inched ever so closer to 5. She thought, This is unlike me to sleep so early. But today really did a number on me. She placed her two weapons, Senbakiri and Anneal Blade, into her closet and shut it. Locking her door, she hit the bed. Without tucking herself in, she conked out. It was still quite dark outside when she awoke. Looking sideways at her clock, she saw that it was still 3 in the morning. She groggily sat up, wondering why she had awakened. Outside her door, the sound of feet hurried away. Immediately alert, she shot out of her bed and ran to her closet. Throwing it open, she found it to be empty. I knew it! she thought, Someone had stolen into my room and snatched my weapons! She quietly closed the door and burst out of her room. Charging out of the building, she activated her Searching skill, hoping to find traces of footsteps. She saw them and followed the vestiges to a dark alley. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she found herself surrounded. A voice crooned, “Your death is nigh, Shiota. We will kill you here.” “Now, how would you do that?” she asked, “Town is a safe zone.” The voice replied after a pause, “Like this.” A duel notice appeared in front of her. It was Total Loss Mode. She hit “yes” and said, “Hoh, you want to kill me, eh? Now, isn’t it rude to attack a weaponless and defenseless lady?” The voice cackled, “The top player of SAO calls herself “defenseless”! What a joke! You’re the top player. I’m sure you have something up your sleeve.” Out of the shadows, hooded figures attacked her. One of them threw a right hook which Shioko intercepted between her elbow and knee before grabbing the arm and heaving his whole body over his comrades. “Well, you deduced correctly. I do have something up my sleeve.” At the Kirigaya family dojo, kendo wasn’t the only thing she learned. Shioko also learned taijutsu. Shioko was never weaponless. Her hands and feet could be considered deadly weapons. She began to counterattack, throwing punches and kicks wherever she felt a presence. She had to buy enough time to equip her third weapon, the rapier Champion Foil. She couldn’t afford to use skills as that would output an alarm of a sound. Another few minutes of grappling with multiple bodies earned her the time needed to open her menu and equip the rapier. “See?” the voice stated, “I told you. You had a trick up your sleeve.” “Well, thank you,” Shioko said, “Now, do I have to wash my hands in blood or will you give my weapons back?” “How about... No. Receive a baptism of blood.” “How about... No. I would rather not stain my hands. Wounding is the best I will do.” “Coward!” “Says the one who steals another player’s weapons and refuses to face me himself.” “I would like to save my own precious life.” Coward. “Fine, I shall make these streets flow with your blood.” Shioko charged through the darkness and thrust out her rapier, in the fashion of Shooting Star (although she hasn’t gotten the skill yet). She connected with something solid. Gotcha! The man let out a silent scream, unwilling to allow his subordinates to hear his pain. His fatal mistake? He was holding her weapons in his hand. The rapier couldn’t be considered a cutting weapon but it sufficed enough to amputate the man’s hand. She grabs the weapons and uses the «Exact Onslaught» skill and the «Miserable Heart», paralyzing the man. For good measure, she forced him to drink a potion of paralysis. She took off into the night, heading off to a greenhouse that she found. Part IV: Meeting of Powerful Strategists The morning came too fast. Shioko lay in the grass outside the greenhouse. She had slept on top of her weapons which really didn’t help with her sleep. Sitting up, she stretched. Her vision cleared and she saw Yuurei. “Okay, just why would you be sleeping here?! I spent most of the morning looking for you!” Shioko batted her eyes and stuck her tongue out. “Awwww... Someone’s worried about me. I feel so special.” “Of course I’m worried, you nutcase! Now, spill!” Shioko crossed her arms, muttering, “You’re no fun.” “What was that?” Shioko shrugged, “Nothing. Anyway, I was attacked last night.” Yuurei immediately slapped his hands to her cheeks, lightly smashing them together. “Oh gods, are you okay?” “Well, duh. I’m still here, right?” “Good point. Anyway, why would someone want to attack you?” “Hmm… Now, that’s a tough one. Maybe because I’m the top player of SAO and I have the best equipment?” Yuurei exclaimed, “Are you telling me your weapons were stolen?!” “Yeah, someone made off with both Senbakiri and Anneal Blade.” “I see you have them. I assume you defeated the thieves and retrieved your swords?” “Yup.” Yuurei sighed, “That’s a relief. Let’s go dungeon diving. We could kill two birds with one stone.” “Elaborate.” “We could search for the labyrinth and level up your katana skill in one go.” “Not a bad plan. Let’s do it.” Yuurei held out a hand to Shioko, silently implying that he would like to help her get up. She refused but upon insisting, sighed and begrudgingly accepted his hand. The two players set out together. Rumors were flying around suggesting that the current two strongest players (both were solo players) were involved romantically. Of course, this was only partially true. The reason? One of them harbors feelings for the other. To determine which of the two has those forbidden feelings will be hard as it is too early to tell. Shioko shrugged off the rumors and marched headlong through the city gates. With the labyrinth tower in their sights, the two made their way there. December 12th, 2022 Three days had passed and the main body of the Aincrad Clearing Force has set up a forward base in «Taran», the establishment nearest to the labyrinth. Some parties had already begun dungeon diving. However, Shioko and Yuurei were on another expedition. For the past three days, they had scoured the floor, searching for stronger and stronger mobs on which the two could test their skills on. In those three days, Shioko’s katana skill level went from 0 to 130. She had gotten quite an excellent selection of skills: «Tsumujigurama», «Ukifune», «Tsujikaze», «Gengetsu» and «Hiōgi». Although they are elaborate, she still prefers to use her low-damage Conjoined Cranes techniques, as that was the only reason why she insists on using Senbakiri in the first place. She is also unable to use the skills anyway since she needs to have more mastery over the scimitar, a one-handed curved sword. Since she doesn’t use scimitars, the only katana sword skill Shioko can use is Tsumujigurama. She had also performed three successful enhancements on Senbakiri bringing it to Senbakiri+3. The DPS went up to 97, making her weapon the strongest in all Aincrad at that time. It was afternoon when Shioko killed her 500th monster. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she panted, “Phew, why don’t we make our way back to Taran?” “I agree,” Yuurei replied, “I’m wiped.” “Why does it feel so slow on gaining EXP? We’re only level 14 after all of that.” Yuurei took note. “Yeah, I find that odd. Probably Kayaba messing with us.” “Plausible,” Shioko replied. The two were out on the plateau rising above Taran. They scaled down the slopes of the rock formation and made their way back to town. Argo came tramping toward Shioko and yelled, “Oi, Shiota!” Stopping in her tracks, she wheeled around. “Argo! Oh, jeez. Don’t scare me like that.” “Sorry,” she mumbled, “Anyway, I came to tell you that the boss room has been discovered.” “Oh, great,” Shioko muttered, “Someone else beat me again.” “It was someone named Lind and his guild that discovered it. He and Kibaou are on a power struggle. Don’t ask me for details.” Shioko scoffed, “Like I would, Argo.” “Ooh, someone’s in a bad mood.” “Oh, shut up.” Shioko waved her off. “So, when’s the strategy meeting?” “Most likely tomorrow,” Argo replied, “It is getting late to try and clear the floor.” Shioko tossed Argo a coin, “Here. For the info.” She grabbed Yuurei and they both took off, towards the inn. ---- “That wasn’t nice.” Yuurei voiced his opinion when the two finally came to a stop in front of the inn. “You think so? I’m always like that with Argo,” Shioko shrugged, “We’re good friends.” Yuurei nodded sagely. He opened the door and waved for Shioko to enter. “After you, Princess.” Shioko quickly reddened. “Oh gods, I told you to stop calling me that!” “Never would I stop calling you that, Princess.” She reddened even further. She quickly walked inside, hoping that Yuurei couldn’t sense her embarrassment. No sooner had she walked inside, she found those hooded figures back again, weapons out and poised at her throat. “Well, hello, boys.” ---- “I’ve been wondering when you’ll show up again,” Shioko mused. “All recovered from those wounds I gave you several days ago?” The leader again spoke, “My, your arrogance is still going strong.” “Arrogance?” Shioko scoffed, “I am not arrogant. You’ve seen my power and you still have the guts to call me ‘arrogant’?” “That attitude right there,” the man retorted, “That attitude is arrogance.” Yuurei whispered in Shioko’s ear, “Are these the thugs who stole your weapons that night?” “Yeah.” The man commented, “I see you’re with the Flash.” “‘''Flash''’?” Yuurei informed her, “That’s my epithet.” “I’m jealous,” Shioko complained, “I don’t have an epithet yet.” The man rebuked her, stating, “No. You have an epithet. The Black Swordsman.” “Well, that’s nice,” Shioko replied, “I assume that’s because I have the tendency to wear dark clothing. What do you want with me then?” “Didn’t I tell you during our first encounter? I said that I’m going to kill you.” At that, Yuurei instinctively drew his rapier and stuck the point under the man’s chin. The other players were trying to make their way out while others were scrambling out of the way but are still staying as they can smell a potential fight. “Hey, so you’re a PKer?” Yuurei asked with a dangerously calm voice. “Yeah, so?” “People like you...” Yuurei muttered, “It’s people like you that I hate the most...” He made a stabbing gesture and attempted to drive though the man’s chest. The rapier’s point bounced off of a wall of particles. “Tch,” he muttered. “This is why I hate safe zones.” He uttered this loud enough so that only Shioko could hear. Shioko announced, “Either leave or state your business. I would like to rest to get ready for clearing this floor.” The man nodded to his comrades and they withdrew their weapons. They filed out in a line and when the man was right next to Shioko, he said, “I would watch your back, Black Swordsman.” For the first time, Shioko noticed the man’s cursor which glowed crimson. Shioko sighed and took her hand off of Senbakiri’s hilt. “Well, that was fun.” Yuurei sheathed his Wind Fleuret. “No, if I see him again, I’m going to murder him. Better I kill the one who kills the many.” Shioko’s hand made a quick movement, slapping itself across his face. “Yuurei, don’t. Unless you’re dueling, your cursor will turn red.” Yuurei groaned, “Yeah, okay. But I want to put a stop to him before he starts killing again.” “It’s fine,” she assured him, “We need to rest. Tomorrow is going to be a tiresome day.” December 13th, 2022 The man known as Lind was standing outside of the safe zone, waiting for the Clearers to gather. Next to him, in an exceptionally foul mood, stood Kibaou. Lind yelled, “Alright, people! Thank you for coming! My party has found the boss room and we would like to hold a strategy meeting in preparation for the upcoming battle. Over to you, Argo.” “Yes, thank you, Lind,” Argo replied, “As an info breaker and a beta tester, I would like to share information on this boss. «Nato the Colonel Taurus» is the mid-boss and is a helper to the floor boss, «Baran the General Taurus». Baran has a special skill, «Numbing Impact», which is his hammer. Slamming it into the ground, he buffs players with paralysis when within range of the shock. Please be wary of that. Other than that, he has a general attack pattern. Oh, I forgot to mention. Nato has a three-bar HP gauge and Baran has a five-bar one. Let’s pray that it is the same as the beta. If not, then we might just be screwed.” Shioko spoke up, “Excuse me, Argo. You’re trying to motivate us not give us another reason to not go. Baran was deadly enough in the beta where we could actually die and respawn. Here and now? We only have one life and that life is our HP gauge. Lind, I would like to suggest that we make a tactical retreat on the occasion that the boss is different than the beta. Everyone else, please, I beg of you. Stock up on as many items as you can. Your life is precious. That is all.” Lind’s face looked quite shocked but he managed to say, “Okay, we plan to raid the boss room tomorrow. Today is a day of preparation. Look through the data. Memorize it. It may mean the difference between life and death.” With that, the assembly disbanded. Shioko grabbed Yuurei and told him that they were going to enhance their weapons once more. Arriving at the NPC blacksmith, Shioko asked for an enhancement on her Senbakiri+3. He accepted and after three minutes of waiting, her katana was returned, now Senbakiri+4 with a DPS of 102. Yuurei handed over his Wind Fleuret+5, for the final enhancement. After another period of waiting, the rapier was returned now +6 with a DPS of 78. “I guess this is the highest I can get my rapier’s DPS to...” “Haha, sorry, Yuurei,” Shioko giggled, “I still have 3 more enhancements. Think you can use my Anneal Blade+6?” “No idea, Shiota,” he said, “I would feel weird using your weapon.” “Good point. I feel weird for suggesting.” “Haha,” he laughed. “Why don’t we turn in for the night?” “Good idea,” Shioko yawned. “Before that…” Yuurei put his hand out, palm up. Tilting her head, Shioko asked, “What?” “Your weapons. We can’t have them stolen on the day before. Those guys won’t expect you to give them.” “Yes! Why would I give it to you?” “For safekeeping! Please, Shiota. For once, listen to common sense!” He looks so cute when he’s mad... Shioko thought wistfully. She sighed, handing over Senbakiri and Anneal Blade. “Fine, here. Promise me you won’t lose them.” “You have my word.” With that, Yuurei put them in his inventory and walked up the stairs, talking to himself. He even looks cute when he talks to himself... she thought before she went up the stairs herself and crashed into her bed. Part V: Dance of the Crane Shioko awoke and stared at her clock. It read 0859. Dang, I woke up one minute earlier than I planned for. I might as well get up. She sat up in bed and stretched. She fumbled out of bed and fell to the floor, flat on her face. That shocked her fully awake. “Ow…” she muttered, rubbing her nose. She stood and sent a message to Yuurei, reminding him to return her weapons. She changed into her battle gear and walked outside. She had told Yuurei their rendezvous point is to be the gates of Taran. She waited for several minutes, staring into the morning sky. Someone walked up to her and tapped her shoulder. Yuurei 6was there, smiling. “Yo.” “Morning, Yuurei,” Shioko greeted, “You have my weapons, right?” “Quit worrying, Shiota,” he admonished, “Of course, I have them.” He opened his inventory and both Senbakiri and Anneal Blade materialized. “Here,” he said, handing them over. Shioko took her blades and thanked him. “Thanks.” “No problem. Now, when is Lind going to come?” “He should be here already,” Shioko replied, “Unless...” “...He went into the labyrinth before we did!” Yuurei yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. “Dammit, he left without most of the strike force!" “Hey, hey, hey, calm down,” Shioko cooed, “I don’t want to have a friend who’s a klazomaniac.” “Yeah, yeah, okay,” he said, “Sorry, Shiota. Let’s go after him. He probably changed the gathering place to the atrium in front of the boss room door.” “Most likely,” Shioko replied, “Let’s go.” They both took off towards the tower that loomed over them. Shioko was glad to find that the monsters here were stronger and were actually able to force her to use sword skills. Normally, she would’ve been able to finish them off with just the Conjoined Cranes. Shioko was elated when she managed to get more EXP than what she got from the past few days. By the time they reached the meeting point, Shioko needed only 30 more EXP to reach level 15. She figured the boss battle would give her enough to level up. Lind scolded, “I cannot believe it took you so long.” Shioko replied, “Well, if we had gotten a notice that the meeting place was changed, we might have gotten here quicker, Mr. Lind.” Kibaou’s voice rose, “What was that, Beater?!” Shioko sighed, “I have no time to deal with you, Kibaou. Go away. Either that or we get this raid started already. I’m itching to start cutting up monsters.” She brandished Senbakiri, pointing them at the players. Lind sensed a growing fight and without warning, threw open the doors of the boss room. “Get inside! We will start!” There were forty-seven players participating in the raid, split into eight parties. Seven had 6 members plus Shioko’s party, which only consisted of herself and Yuurei, and Tiffany’s party, which consisted of Tiffany, Chelsea, and Quartz. Shioko only knew Tiffany and Chelsea. The other was a new player that she didn’t know. Charging in, Shioko said, “I’ll take point!” As she was fleet-footed, she easily overtook the main raid force and landed the first hit on Baran. “Lind! Take a party and deal with Nato! I’ll take the other half to crush Baran!” Shioko used Tsumujigurama to stun the boss and frantically gestured to the others to start attacking. She stepped back and opened up her skill window, hastily switching her katana skill with her one-handed sword skill. I do not want to use Senbakiri in boss battles and risk breaking it. It is my only connection to the real world and I don’t want to lose it. Drawing Anneal Blade, she charged back in, this time unleashing a plethora of skills. She kept a close eye on Baran’s hammer, just in case he gave any indication of using Numbing Impact. Without letting up, Shioko chained ten steps: Sonic Leap, Vertical, Horizontal, Rage Spike, Sharp Nail, Vertical Arc, Horizontal Arc, «Vertical Square», Horizontal Square and finally Star Quint Prominence. With that, she cut through Baran’s first HP bar, dealing at least three-quarters of the damage herself. Yuurei smiled, “Heh, as expected of SAO’s top player! I won’t lose to you though!” Yuurei had secretly practiced the exploitation in the system that Shioko was using. With it, he dished out a ten-step chain himself: «Linear», Streak, «Evolve», «Rip Ravine», «Sweep», «Oblique», «Parallel Sting», «Shooting Star», Triangular and finally Over-Radiate. “Ooh!” Shioko applauded, “You’ve also learned the loophole in the system.” “Yeah, no thanks to observing you using it during the last boss raid.” “And you also unleashed a ten-step chain like me,” Shioko wily said, “I assume you used all the skills in your inventory?” “Yeah, I had to use all of my skills.” “Ha! I still had one left. I left out Slant.” Kibaou yelled, “Hey, quit dawdling and let’s finish this raid!” “You and your piss-poor attitude...” Shioko muttered indifferently though she heeded his words. She reverted back to simple attacks as she had exhausted her SP in using that ten-step chain. Yuurei’s attack pattern also reverted back to normal. Baran had only a sliver of his second HP bar left. Chelsea’s Hiōgi knocked off that sliver. Suddenly, a roar resounded through the room. Through what seemed like a backdoor, someone else emerged. “I was right...” Shioko muttered, “Lind, back off! We need to regroup! The boss isn’t the same as the beta!” Lind was already sweeping the floor with Nato. He yelled back, “No! We finish it here! Groups D, E and F, go and fend off the boss until Groups G and H can finish off Baran!” Half of the group that was assaulting Nato broke away and charged towards the boss. “Idiots!” Shioko yelled. She charged Yuurei, “Oi, Yuurei! Deal with Baran! I need to go and save those idiots.” Yuurei shot a smile. “Do your worst, Princess.” Shioko reddened slightly but shook it off. She had to concentrate on the task at hand. She quickly closed the distance with the boss using Rage Spike then launched into a new ten-step chain: Vertical, Horizontal Arc, Vertical Square, Horizontal, Vertical Arc, Horizontal Square, Sonic Leap, Sharp Nail, and Star Quint Prominence. The boss’s first HP bar went into the red. It cried out and held up its battle hammer. Shioko yelled, “Everyone, back off! It’s about to use Numbing Impact!” Shioko bolted backward, vaulting on top of Baran’s head and aiming Rage Spike downwards into its head. The monster cried out in agony as Shioko watched its last HP bar shrink to zero. Shioko landed on her feet and ran in a wide arc around the floor boss, «Asterius the Taurus King», keeping a watchful eye on its raised hammer. It slammed its hammer against the ground and shockwaves reverberated through the floor. Since she was out of range, the skill didn’t affect her but she noticed that Asterius’ range with Numbing Impact is at least twice as large as Baran’s. Most players who thought they were safe weren’t as the paralysis debuff overtook them. “Tch!” Shioko charged in, betting on the post-motion delay of Asterius’ skill. She had used an SP regeneration item beforehand and began unleashing more skills. Shioko thought, Is it just me or is this loophole in the system getting easier to exploit? She played with the boss, knowing that it could learn her movements. She had no pattern; that was the beauty of the Conjoined Cranes. It is currently at half power due to Shioko using it with Anneal Blade instead of Senbakiri. She could confuse the boss and deal damage at the same time. Two birds with one stone. She had a near infinite amount of ways to chain her 49 Conjoined Cranes techniques, which made it that much easier to randomize against the boss. In no time, the boss had lost 2 HP bars by Shioko alone. The others joined in after a pause since they were all gawking at the unbelievable speed she was attacking at. Before anyone else came, Yuurei was helping Shioko as he had lost the ability to be surprised after being with her for the past few days. “Well, Princess, it seems you have caught the attention of everyone present here,” Yuurei teased. Shioko waved him off. “Eh, I say let them be surprised. The boss’ fourth HP bar was diminishing with every strike. Everyone else finally joined after Shioko had removed the first quarter of the HP bar. From there, it was just a whirlwind of death unleashed by the players. With Yuurei and Shioko at the frontlines, the boss quickly lost its fourth and now is losing its fifth. “Almost there, guys!” Shioko yelled, “Stay on your toes!” The boss was ready to again use Numbing Impact. Lind yelled, “Back off! You know the boss has a large range!” The players heeded his words except for Shioko and Yuurei. Those two kept up their onslaught up until the last second. Shioko cartwheeled backward with her sword in hand. Once the shockwaves disappeared, Shioko charged back in using Rage Spike. Yuurei was not so lucky. He was just a tad slow and he was caught inside the very outskirts of the skill’s range. He was saved by Shioko because of her quick reactions upon cutting at the boss. Lind shouted, “This is the final stretch. We will conquer this game!” A huge cheer rang out from the surviving players. Shioko unleashed Star Quint Prominence when the boss finally stole a chance. It brought down its hammer right onto Anneal Blade. Shioko let go of it not a second too soon. The boss’ eyes twinkled evilly with a grotesque smile growing on its face as the hammer hit the sword. No sooner had the boss began rejoicing was its mood flipped over. Shioko’s Anneal Blade shone, unbroken. She picked it up and vaulted onto the boss’ back. She knew that this was a reckless move but it was the quickest way to end it. Gathering more energy, she activated Rage Spike, driving her sword at a spot exactly midway between the boss’ horns. Shioko watched, triumphant, as the last HP bar dwindled. She braced herself for a harmless explosion, as the boss’ body dissolved into pixels. A notice appeared with “Congratulations!!” on it. Shioko noted her health which was in the yellow. She obtained the Last Attack Bonus, the two-handed «Bullish Greatsword». “Ugh, I can’t use this. Lind, here. Catch.” She tossed the sword at Lind who surprisingly caught it. “Why are you giving it to me?” he asked. “Well, let’s see,” Shioko mused. “You’re the leader of this raid, right?” Lind was about to reply but Shioko raised a hand. “Yes, you are. So, I find it somewhere in my heart that it would be respectful to give the Last Attack Bonus to you. And like I said: I can’t use it anyway. My body is too small to use a sword as big as that.” Tongue-tied, Lind tried to make words issue from his lips. Yuurei placed his hand on Shioko’s shoulder. “Let’s go and discover what’s on Aincrad’s third floor, shall we?” “Yup, I wonder what’s next,” she replied. The two players swept their robes and made their way to the stairs.